The Hourglass: Chipped
by piratewitch92
Summary: Sequel to The Hourglass. It's been a year since Hope and the Doctor last visited Asgard. But a message from an old friend calls them back to the Realm Eternal to combat an old enemy. But what is the real motive?
1. Chapter 1

I

Hope often wondered how got dragged into these messes. Or more accurately, how did the Doctor always managed to find these messes to drag her into. Currently, the pair were hightailing it to the Tardis, stalked by a platoon of Sontarans. The Doctor was laughing jovially, seemingly unfazed by the laser bullets whipping past their heads. "I'm so glad you find this so amusing, Doctor!"

"You don't?"

"No! I don't find being fired at funny! Especially not when it could be by Strax's cousins!" The Tardis Daughter jumped a bullet as she said this. "Evil Mr. Potato-heads! Momma better be close by!"

"Just one more right turn!" Sure enough, the Tardis was waiting with open doors for them. Hope ducked inside and hid herself behind the console, starting up the police box as the Doctor locked the doors. The Timelord was still doubling over with laughter. "The looks on their faces! Priceless!"

"Oh yes cause an army of murderous potatoes is comedy gold," the girl retorted. Her fingers found the delicate gold hourglass hanging from her neck, ensuring it had survived the adventure unscathed. By Hope's watch, which the Doctor had "sonicked" to keep with her native time, it had been nearly a year since they had last visited Asgard.

After learning Loki's "final" secret, Hope had swiped the Doctor's psychic paper, always checking it for a message from her king. The Doctor was well aware of she had borrowed it and only acknowledge the fact to be sure he didn't have messages. There were rarely any messages for the Doctor. As the girl checked the psychic paper once more, she was greeted with a blank piece of paper. She sighed. Loki never sent her any messages.

"Hope!" A snap of the fingers and an irritated call broke Hope's melancholy reverie.

"Yes, sorry, what?"

"I don't know what you're waiting to see on that paper, but I'm trying to be clever and you're ignoring me!" The hyperactive Timelord's bottom lip stuck out like a miffed two-year-old. "What good are you if I can't show off how awesome I am?"

"Sorry, I was thinking…"

"About what?"

"Not what…" The Doctor's scowl melted into concern as a telling silence fell between them.

"Loki again?" Hope nodded. "Hope, I know it hurts… But it's been a year… He wouldn't want you to dwell on him like this…"

_Oh Doctor. If you only knew. _"I know, Doctor. I just miss him"

"Oh, I know… Come here." The Timelord wrapped his arms around his companion, hugging her tight to him. Hope felt her heart constrict into a tight knot. She hated lying to the Doctor about Loki but at the same time she had given Loki her word. Besides the Doctor lied all the time. Surely one little lie wouldn't hurt would it?

"Hope?" The Doctor must have noticed the conflict in her eyes. "Is there something you need to tell me?" The girl tugged at her lower lip as she contemplated an answer.

"No."

"Hmm… Is there something you want to tell me but cannot?" How on Earth did he manage to do that? She just nodded. "Is it important?" She took longer to answer that one, simply nodding again. "I see…" The Timelord finally answered, searching her face with concerned scrutiny.

"I'm sorry…"

"It's alright. Now!" The energetic cosmogyral alien clapped his hands together, scurrying around the console. "Where to next?" He began to flick and twist any knob that appealed to him. "1920's New York? Jupiter 3043? OH! OH! OH!" The Doctor pointed at her excitedly. "Norway! 843!"

"Doctor, you are not subtle. And Loki wasn't even born yet."

"Well damn. I tried." The time traveler deflated although he continued to prod at buttons. Hope giggled at the Doctor's antics. Since they left Asgard, the Timelord had been extra goofy in order to keep a smile on her face. And it always worked. "So… Where next?"

- wibbly wobbly timey wimey -

Loki released a rather exasperated sigh as he signed yet another new ordinance. He had forgotten how tedious being king of Asgard really was. His previous stint had been a short one, and he had been preoccupied with keeping the new position to be concerned with menial tasks. Now, with Thor and his new friends keeping the Nine safe, menial tasks seemed to be all he could do.

The Mischief God slumped further into his chair, his mind sufficiently melted and bored with signatures. He rubbed the cramps out of his wrist, eyeing the blank piece of parchment at the corner of his desk. The temptation to contact Hope had grown stronger with each new boring task heaped upon him. The risk of exposure, however, was far too great. Besides, he still had a few tricks up his sleeve to combat his loneliness.

Loki waved his hand, sending a flurry of emerald sparks into the air. The sparks danced into the open air, slowly swirling into the form of his time-traveling lover. Within moments, Hope stood before him, eyes wide in surprise. She was dressed in a simple sheath of forest green silk whose sleeves fell around her shoulders. Her dark brown hair was piled atop her head with a few stray tendrils curling about her blushing cheeks. Loki smirked. "Hope. You look beautiful."

"I hope so. You designed the dress." He could never keep the sarcasm out of Hope's clones. Although, he did often question if he injected too much of it. The Hope clone gave a little twirl, admiring her gown. "You are so obsessed with green."

"Well yes. This is not a new fact." He held a hand out to the clone, pulling her onto his lap when she took it. He tried to squash down the pain at the lack of his engagement gift to her on her arm. "Besides the dress brings out your beautiful eyes."

"Because emerald really brings out dirt brown."

"Mmm but for you it truly enhances your beauty, my little pixie."

"I am _not _little. You, sir, have an absolutely terrible condition that makes you far too tall." Her hand threaded into his hair, guiding him to meet her descending lips. "I recommend a liberal application of my kisses at least five times a day."

"That will not make you any less short, love…" he whispered against her lips. "Nor will it actually affect my height."

"Shut up and kiss me." Unfortunately, before the Trickster could obey, there was a loud rapping at the door. An inhuman growl escaped from Loki.

"What do you wa-ahem. What is it?" He barely remembered to disguise his voice due to frustration.

"Forgive me, Milord. But Navar has yet to report for duty tonight." The Hope Clone proceeded to nuzzle into Loki, acting rather catlike and distracting.

"Check the pubs or taverns. No doubt he's been drinking."

"We already did, Milord. We even went to his home but all we found was his armor, ready and waiting. No one had seen him for some time." The Mischief God released an annoyed groan.

"Fine. I'll be there momentarily." The Hope Clone continued to nuzzle Loki as the guard's footsteps faded away. "I have to go, you."

"No you don't. Momentarily is not a concrete amount of time." The clone began to nuzzle into the god's neck, nipping at it with contented purrs. "Stay awhile, my sweet god." She began to press feather light kisses along his neck, tempting him to stay with her. "Remain with me, my king."

"As tempting as that is, my sweet, I am needed elsewhere." He pressed a kiss to the clone's forehead to ease the rejected pout. "Navar will mark the fifth missing guard this month. If this continues, I will not have an army." The clone pouted but climbed off his lap. "Besides…" A wave of his hand and the close faded into green sparks. "You're not really her anyway."


	2. Chapter 2

II

Hope never ceased to be awed by her own luck. She was perched in the door of the Tardis, nursing a cup of tea and dangling one leg out of the doorway. All around nebulas of glittering clouds danced and twirled, dwarfing the Tardis's frame. Watching the intricately simple ballet of stars allowed her thoughts to drift away, taking any stress that weighed heavy on her mind with it. She found herself relying on this form of meditation quite often to help her cope with Loki's secret.

The Doctor, meanwhile, was currently one the phone, talking with wild animated gestures. She only caught various bits and pieces of the conversation as her attention bounced between the calming nebulas and the hyperactive Doctor. If she had to guess though, she would put good money on the other half of the phone call being his wife, River Song. She was the only person the Doctor was so flirtatious with. Well, the only woman at least. "Tell River I said hi."

The Doctor was her off with an air of annoyance but still relayed into the phone, "Hope says hi." The girl smirked at him as he continued, "You're where? ...Going to Asgard? …How come?"

"She's going to Asgard?" The Doctor just waved her off again, concentrating on the conversation. That seemed like such an odd place for River to go.

"How do you plan to get in? Aren't you still banned because of the fire?" Hope began to follow the Doctor around so she could hear his conversation. Her hand slipped into her pocket, fingers gingerly touching the psychic paper. "What do you mean you think something's wrong?" The girl froze. Surely, River hadn't discovered Loki. "Alright. Let me talk to Hope then we'll be there soon."

The young girl did not move as the Doctor hung up the phone. _Oh God… Loki… _"What did River have to say?" Hope fought hard to keep the panic out of her voice. Her mind was already racing with every possible terrifying outcome.

"River thinks she's found a portal to Asgard and is worried something's already traveled through it. She wasn't quite sure what though. But she wants us to meet her there." The Doctor was already beginning to start the Tardis up as he spoke. "Think you can handle going back?"

"I have to, don't I? If Asgard's in danger, I can't say no." _And what if Loki was hurt… _

"Well technically you could. I can drop you off at-"

"No. I want to go help. There were too many people there who were really good to me. I have to return the favor."

"Alright!" The Doctor proceeded to enter the final coordinates into the Tardis. As he did this, Hope leaned against the console, pulling the psychic paper out of her pocket. Surely, Loki would have tried to contact her if something was wrong. Wouldn't he?

But when she opened the paper's little flip wallet, the page was blank. Now the rational part of her mind told her he probably wasn't aware of any possible threat. River didn't sound a hundred percent certain there actually was one after all. The paranoid part however feared the worst. What if Loki had been hurt by whatever had infiltrated Asgard? Or perhaps Odin had returned and somehow exposed him, condemning him to the dungeons again or worse. _**What if your god IS the threat? **_Hope bit her lip at the Tardis's less the kind reminder of Loki's true nature. No one could be sure until they arrived in Asgard. _Oh Loki… Please, please, PLEASE, be safe for me… _

- Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey -

Loki studied the odd scorch marks intently, cursing the Allfather's possession of one good eye. He had followed the guard to Navar's home and found that many important details had not been relayed to him. For example, it was clear that there had been some kind of struggle. Navar's armor and possessions had been somewhat strewn all over the room, his weapons lying in broken heaps. All along the walls were scorch marks, some from the missing guard's weapons as well as some marks that were from no weapon the warrior prince recognized. "Why was I not informed there were signs of a struggle?"

"None of us could identify a weapon, sir. It doesn't seem to be any of Asgard make."

"I am not convinced this weapon is from any of the Nine Realms," the not-Allfather admitted. "I have never seen marks like these."

"I have," a woman's voice answered. Loki turned to find a wild haired and strangely familiar beauty smiling at him. "Odin, it's been awhile."

"Forgive me. Have we met?"

"Well it has been several years since we last met… Unless I'm early. Time travel will do that to you. My name's Professor River Song. And that…" Professor Song pointed to the marks. "Makes me think you may have a Dalek problem."

"Dalek?" Loki vaguely recalled Hope mentioning a race called the Daleks before. She hadn't seemed too fond of the beings. "Should I be concerned?"

"Oh that depends."

"On what exactly?"

"How many got through. This looks like it was just the one though." She took a moment to observe the scorch marks up close. Loki took this moment to confront the guard.

"She demanded to be let through and would not be stopped, milord," The guard quickly explained in response to the Faux King's icy questioning glare. "We tried to keep her out, but she would not be stopped."

"They didn't do a very good job trying though. You might want to do something about that," River commentated, turning to face them. "By the way, any chance I could speak to you alone, Odin?"

"Show some respect, woman. Sir, I do not think that wise."

"My name is River thank you. Oh and don't worry. I'll behave. I am a married woman after all." She shot a flirtatious wink at the king and guard. "You can trust me." The mischievous glint in her eye said otherwise. The False Odin smirked.

"I'm certain I am capable of handling a single woman."

"Famous last words, sweetie."

"You are excused, Taveen." The guard bowed and left, casting a warning glare to River Song. The cheeky time traveler simply smirked back, waving boldly at him. Once the guard was gone and had shut the door, the faux king turned to River again. "Now, if this really is a Dalek, how do I defend my kingdom from it?"

"Well, first thing's always first." Within a blink of an eye, the professor was holding a gun to Loki's forehead, glaring him down. "You tell me who you really are." Loki was stunned. No one could see through his illusions except the Allfather himself. Surely this simple outsider had not discovered him.

"I don't know what you mean."

"I was banished from Asgard years ago. Odin threatened to have me killed on sight if I ever dared to set another foot in his realm. Now." She cocked the gun, pressing it harder to his forehead. "Who are you?"


	3. Chapter 3

III

Loki began to chuckle, seemingly unfazed by the foreign weapon at his head. "Ah, Professor Song," he began as his façade Odin melted away. "I do believe Hope told me about you. With very high honors in fact. Of course, I assume she hasn't been informed about the fire."

"How do you know about Hope?" River's eyes had widened with concerned when the Trickster mentioned her husband's companion. "What have you done to her?!"

"I do not have her nor have I seen her for over a year." He began to the gun away from himself; more than a little miffed she would insinuate he would harm Hope. This woman clearly had no idea who he was to Hope and vice versa.

"I know your tricks, Loki. So don't try to lie to me."

"I'm not. I would not allow any harm to come to Hope." Loki's confident – or rather, cocky – smirk faded as the possible reasons for River's question bore on his mind. "What's happened to Hope?"

"You tell me." Professor Song wore a smirk that simply screamed she knew something he didn't. This only angered the Mischief God further.

"As I've said, I've not seen her for over a year." There was a tense silence between the two as River mulled over his words. She must have believed his words, as she holstered her weapon.

"Hope is alive and well. I just spoke to the Doctor an hour ago and she told me 'hi.'" One could easily see the emerald spark passing through River's head from Loki. "Does Hope know you're alive?"

"She does. I made certain she knew the truth."

"Good. That you told her, not that you're actually doing this." Distrust hung thick between them as River turned back to the scorched walls. "So riddle me this. Why would Daleks want to attack Asgardian guards?"

"I was hoping you could answer that. I do not recall personally doing anything to anger them. Of course… I cannot speak for the Allfather." Loki had no memory of such creatures appearing in Asgard's histories, his only knowledge of the things being from what Hope told him. "Our history has held secrets before."

"Speaking of Odin, were is he?"

"Do you really think I would just tell you that secret? Surely you're much cleverer than that."

"It was worth a shot. So." River stood, writing something in a small blue journal. Loki couldn't help but notice how the cover resembled the doors to the Tardis. "You have at least one Dalek roaming your city and bumping off you guards."

"So it would seem. How kind of you to point out the obvious."

"I'm going to ignore that. Luckily for you, I've called in an expert."

**-Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey—**

"Well how was I supposed to know that suit of armor was there?"

"Oh I don't know. Maybe… Look out the window?" Hope kicked at the squashed armor, shaking her head at the clear Tardis imprint. "Use a rear view camera perhaps?"

"A rear view camera? It's a time machine! Not a sports car! I can't just look out a window!"

"I can tell. I never realized just how shoddy you were at parking, Doctor." She fidgeted with her hourglass necklace, the only possible sign of her underlying nerves. "Perhaps you should consider adding a rear view mirror or something."

"And how am I supposed to add a rear view mirror on to a big blue police box, Hope? It would look absolutely ridiculous!"

"Says the man in a bright red fez."

"Hey! Fezzes are cool. Don't knock the fez and I won't knock your taste in men." It took the Doctor all of three seconds to realize what he had said. "No sorry, that was mean. I didn't mean that, I promise. Hugs?!" He threw his arms out in a general Hope shape, his goofy grin making the girl laugh. She threw herself into the hug, far too amused by his attempt to correct his mistake to be offended. She did wonder how in the world this dork managed to save the universe on a regular basis, however.

"It's alright, Doctor." Before he could realize what was going on, Hope snatched the fez from off his head, putting it on herself. "I'll just steal your fez in retribution!"

"A: That's my fez! And b: We're here on a mission, Hope. We need to be serious!"

"Because nothing says serious quite like a fez does," Hope snarked, smirking at the Doctor with mischievous glee.

"Well, we both know I can only be eighty-eight percent serious at one time. Now I need to see if River sent any messages. Either hand me the psychic paper or check it yourself."

"Oh, sure." The girl had forgotten all about that in the excitement. She took the paper out of her pocket and took a look for herself.

"Anything?" The Doctor asked, watching her carefully. Hope bit her lip, thinking of how to answer. There was indeed finally a message of the psychic paper, written in Loki's elegant handwriting. She looked up at the Doctor's curious eyes, which were watching her for a response.

"Well… It's not from River. But there is a message from Odin asking for our help." The Timelord's eyebrows knit together in confusion.

"With what?"

"Doesn't say." Hope watched the Doctor, nervous about his response. "All it says is 'Trouble in Asgard. I need yours and the Doctor's help.'" The Tardis Daughter jumped a little as the Doctor began to chuckle.

"So… the great Allfather actually addressed a mere mortal for help! This is wonderful! Of course, I don't really know where he developed this superiority complex to humans anyway. Maybe it's just where you were dating one of his sons. He was so friendly and curious as a little boy."

"Whoa. You knew Odin when he was a little boy?"

"Yes! And Thor and Loki too. Little Loki and Tiny Thor, they were so cute. Granted River helped Loki get her kicked out of Asgard. And of course, I had a different face then too."

"Jeez, Doctor, you really get around don't you?" Hope joked as she shook her head.

"Oh, yes I d- Hey, wait a minute!"

"We should probably find Thor and or Odin," Hope pointed out before the Doctor could protest any further. "Maybe they can explain what's going on exactly."

"That is an excellent idea, Hope! Where would they be hiding then?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"You've been here more."

"No I haven't! You're older, you're here more!"

"You've explored more than I have." Hope huffed. "Plus you just have a different perspective."

"Fine. Let's try the throne room then, I guess." Hope led the way, arguing with the Doctor about little nothings as they traveled.

The pair were so caught up in their play fights, they didn't see the metal creature carefully following them from the shadows. A blue light emitted from the creature's eyestalk, recording everything both Doctor and companion said and did. "Re-port! The bat-ter-ry has a-rrived with the Doc-tor! Pro-ceed with mis-sion! Cap-ture the lure!"


End file.
